Health care providers joined in a rally at the state capitol to protest cuts in Medi-Cal reimbursement rates in June, 2013. (California Medical Association/Flickr)

A long-awaited and much-feared ten percent rate cut goes into effect Thursday for doctors and clinics reimbursed through Medi-Cal –- the state’s health insurance for low-income patients. This comes at the same time the federal health overhaul is expanding that program to as many as 2 million Californians.

Provisions of the Affordable Care Act will protect primary care doctors from the cuts for the next two years, but specialty doctors that treat the poor are bracing for the hit. Many physicians in dermatology, neurology, cardiology, and urology will now be losing money on every Medi-Cal patient they see. Some will have no choice but to turn low-income patients away.

“Bottom line, they cannot continue to provide care for below the cost of care,” says Shannon Smith-Crowley, a lobbyist who works closely with the California Medical Association.

She says the situation could be especially dire for clinics that have a heavy load of low-income patients –- some may be forced to close: “There’s no way that a lot of those practices can keep their doors open. It simply does not pencil out,” she says. “It’s really, really scary.”

Doctors are also worried about having to pay back years’ worth of retroactive cuts, dating back to 2011 when they were first signed into law. The state was in financial turmoil then. But now the fiscal picture is much improved and clinics have been pressuring lawmakers to reverse the cuts. Democrats have drawn a budget blue print that does just that.

Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to release his budget later Thursday, and early indications are that he will rescind the retroactive cuts. Advocates are hopeful.

“California does have a surplus,” says Kathy Kneer, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. “I’m hoping that he’ll feel less need to continue cutting the Medi-Cal program and that we can just catch our breath.”

Doctors will be competing with advocates from a range of other causes, including education and the environment, who all want to see funds reinstated to previously slashed programs. If Brown does reduce or reverse the Medi-Cal cuts, the changes would have to be approved by the state legislature and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Author

April Dembosky

April Dembosky is the health reporter for The California Report and KQED News. She covers health policy and public health, and has reported extensively on the economics of health care, the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act in California, mental health and end-of-life issues.

Her work is regularly rebroadcast on NPR and has been recognized with awards from the Society for Professional Journalists (for sports reporting), and the Association of Health Care Journalists (for a story about pediatric hospice). Her hour-long radio documentary about home funerals won the Best New Artist award from the Third Coast International Audio Festival in 2009.

April occasionally moonlights on the arts beat, covering music and dance. Her story about the first symphony orchestra at Burning Man won the award for Best Use of Sound from the Public Radio News Directors Inc.

Before joining KQED in 2013, April covered technology and Silicon Valley for The Financial Times, and freelanced for Marketplace and The New York Times. She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and Smith College.

State of Health Sponsored by

Post navigation

About State of Health

California faces health care challenges seen across the country. At a time of intense focus on reform, "State of Health" explores these issues and more, bringing you stories of challenge and change in the Golden State. The blog is edited by Carrie Feibel.